Watershed and Lake Facts

• Lake Whatcom is the drinking water source for over 85,000 residents of Whatcom County, about half the county's population.
• Lake Whatcom provides drinking water for the City of Bellingham, the Lake Whatcom Water and Sewer District, several smaller water districts and associations, and a few hundred homes that draw water directly from the lake.
• Lake Whatcom holds about 250 billion gallons of water.
• Lake Whatcom is about 10 miles long and just over a mile wide at its widest point.
• Lake surface is about 5,000 acres, with 8 percent within City limits.
• The Lake Whatcom Watershed occupies about 56 square miles (36,000 acres), with about 3 percent inside City limits.
• As of 2007, the population of the Lake Whatcom Watershed was roughly 15,000 people or 6,500 homes.
  

These lake facts can be found on page 12 in the City's 2007 Guide to the Lake Whatcom Watershed:  Stewards of the Lake.